1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rail bogie lifting devices and more particularly pertains to a new forklift attachment for attachment to a fifth-wheel hitch assembly of a vehicle for permitting the lifting of loads.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of rail bogie lifting devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, rail bogie lifting devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,516; U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,264; U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,454; U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,501; U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,629; U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,963; U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,516; U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,315; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 245,606; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 246,845; PCT Patent No. WO 94/13509 (inventors: Hull et al); and PCT Patent No. 84/01752 (inventor: Silva).
Dual mode articulated rail-highway vehicle system which employ separable rail bogies have been developed. In this type of system, semi-trailer bodies with retractable highway wheel assemblies are attached to detachable rail bogies and the semi-trailer bodies are then coupled end to end to form trains. No conventional rail cars are used thereby reducing weight, cost, and maintenance. The rail bogies are left behind on the rail when the semi-trailer bodies are taken by normal tractors to their destinations over highways. This has developed a need for devices for lifting and transporting these types of rail bogies around a railway yard. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, rail bogies include end rail bogies 3 and intermediate rail bogies 2 such as the type manufactured by Wabash National Corporation, P.O. Box 6129 Lafayette, Ind. 47903 under the trade names CouplerMate Rail Bogie (for end rail bogies 3) and Intermediate Rail Bogie (for intermediate rail bogies 2. Rail bogies 2,3 are built so that the main body of either of the rail bogies 2,3 is set onto the axle journals or bearing mounted on the axles 4,5, being separated by a spring suspension system. The axles 4,5 are designed to accept the load from the top only, and are not designed to have any loading from the bottom. The axles 4,5 are kept in place by a retainer or ear bolted under each end of each axle. These ears can be easily broken off if the rail bogies are handled improperly. Also, if improperly handled, the coil spring suspension mounted between the main body of the bogie and journal housing can be cocked out of position, causing broken coil springs. The bogies have a pan 6 that is mounted between the two axles, several inches lower than the axles. Since this pan 6 is part of the main body of the bogie, lifting on it will also result in improper lifting on the suspension and axles of the bogie which can break the retainer ears or cock the springs. Therefore, proper lifting must be done on the axle/wheel assemblies 4,5 only.
Another problem is that the cost of a forklift that has the size necessary to move the bogies is very large. The forklift must be able to pick up and carry 19,000 pounds (the typical weight of an end rail bogie 3) at a distance of 50 inches out away from the mast of the forklift.